Chinese authorities have released on bail three activists who had been detained after investigating labor conditions at a factory that produced shoes for the Ivanka Trump brand and other U.S. footwear labels, the Associated Press reports.
The three activists, who were working with New-York based advocacy group China Labor Watch, today walked out of a police station in Ganzhou, a city in southeastern Jiangxi province, the final day of their legally mandated 30-day detention period limit, according to AP.
The release of the activists comes weeks after reports surfaced that the three men had gone missing following their attempts to investigate several factories run by Chinese shoe manufacturer Huajian Group. Eventually, the activists were presumed detained by the Chinese government, prompting the U.S. State Department to step in and formally call for their release — a request that Chinese officials dismissed at the time.
In a report dated June 21, China Labor Watch described a list of unethical behaviors that it said the activists — who went undercover at factories run by Huajian Group in April — observed at Huajian’s factory in Jiangxi.
“Huajian is not just another plant in China bending the rules. Its abuses are severe. When our investigation was ongoing, employees